Are you tired of my focusing on migraines yet? I certainly am. But as I am on day four of this particular episode, I can’t leave the subject yet.
Today, I found these depictions of what it’s like to have a migraine from the artist Olea Nova.
This first one is how migraine pain feels to me … a pulling sensation. I am fortunate that I don’t usually have severe pain but when I do, this it how it feels.
My biggest complaint is what I refer to as the brain fog. I feel like my head in a cloud of fluff, a bubble. I can’t think clearly.
Then there are the visual disturbances, the auras.
This image from a migraine aura art gallery depicts exactly what mine are like. The jagged edges, the blue, white and yellow (sometimes orange). It appears in my peripheral vision and flashes and floats from one side to the other, obstructing my range of vision.
I am captivated by this art, this representation of suffering. It’s an amazing thing.
My own journey as an emerging artist is one of the things that I love about myself and one that still fills me with fear and feelings of inadequacy but with more promise and potential than I can fathom. I began in my 42nd year and am proud to be reinventing myself this way. You can find my artistic musings and images on my very neglected art blog, Cynthia Clack. It is a constellation on the cusp of exploding into existence. One day those stars will shine in the universe.
That last one is quite fascinating. I can't quite get my head around it, but it's probably better for all that
Here's to emerging artists who begin the journey late. It inspires me very much to share the journey with others in this way. My creativity has been such an amazing thing to hang onto in a dark time. You have bucketloads of talent, Ms Cynthia. I am very glad you are continuing on, despite all those fears and inadequacies (they're legion, aren't they)
PS: I had what I think were a couple of migraines while I had CFS. I haven't had them since. Whether they were exactly the same I'm not sure, but – oh, boy. Bad. So bad. The whole "turn off the light" thing, the seasickness … oh, yuk. My sympathies.